Neonatal (birth – 2 weeks)
During this time your kitten is totally dependent on mum for survival. At this stage life consists of mainly eating and sleeping. They spend about 4 hours of the day suckling, their eyes are closed and their hearing is poor. This means that touch and smell are very important. They shuffle towards warmth and of course the teats will be quite warm compared with the rest of the mother's body while she is producing milk. At this stage, brain development is immature.
Transitional (2 – 3 weeks)
Rapid physical and behavioural changes occur in this time and they start to become more independent. They can crawl and walk a little, albeit in a wobbly fashion. Their ears and eyes will open too. By three weeks their sense of smell is fully developed and they will start to eat solid food.
Socialisation (3 – 9 weeks)
This stage is very important, there is still much work being done on the socialisation period – also called the sensitive period. This stage is shorter than it is for puppies but it does vary for each individual kitten. It is during this time that most kittens will be re homed to new owners, so here we are, you have your kitten!
Hearing and vision develop further, they can right themselves by six weeks and maintain their own temperature. During this period different types of play emerge: social play involves playing with their brothers and sisters and type of play also goes through stages. The kittens start to play with toys or other objects and it is in fact called object play. Locomotor play, which really means moving about more and learning about balance, running and turning increases their skills for hunting later on. Interestingly, kittens that are weaned early at about 4 weeks tend to hunt more later in life than those kittens who are weaned later at say, 9 weeks of age. These later weaned kittens tend to hunt less.
It is important for kittens to have human contact before 7 weeks of age if they are going to be a social cat. Genetically, cats would seem to be either timid and afraid or bold and friendly and this is passed on through the father's genes. This means that some cats may never be confident around humans and we must remember to give those cats more space and time and not force them to be petted and so on. Slowly does it!
Just like puppies, it is important to expose kittens to new things gradually and not over expose them. Regular gentle handling between 3 and 9 weeks is very important. Fifteen minutes a day of stroking, looking at ears and teeth is plenty and will make all the difference – the time can be increased gradually as they become more used to you. If you are lucky enough to have a bold and friendly kitten they will be hanging off the curtains before you know it!
Juvenile (9 weeks to sexual maturity)
Sexual maturity occurs from around 4 – 10 months - Depending on the individual. Movement skills and coordination continue to improve and they become even more independent. You will notice that by 14 weeks play becomes a bit rougher and social fighting will occur. If you have older cats at home, introducing kittens early will be much easier. We can give you tips on introducing kittens to older cats if you would like us too. Adults Cats are seasonal polyoestrus animals. This means that during the breeding season they have several periods of sexual receptivity. Female cats do not ovulate unless they are mated. We call them induced ovulators. Females can mate with several males.
Social maturity (think teenagers!) - occurs later, normally between 36-48 months of age.
Senior
There are some studies underway at the moment assessing senile changes in the cat and we certainly see a number of diseases at this time. Hyperthyroidism and kidney disease are probably the most common problems that we see. It is important to notice any changes in behaviour at this time because if caught early there is much more that we can do for them. Cats get joint pain too so noticing that your cat is moving around less is also important. We all need pain relief at some point.